You Can't Have Me Back, Mr Ex

Anna’s POV

"What the hell did you do to Jessica?" he shouted at me, cradling a groaning Jessica in his arms.

I was taken aback by his accusation. "I didn't do anything to her," I protested. "She just fell. I didn't touch her."

But Caden wasn’t listening, he was too busy fussing over Jessica. And why was he being so tender and caring with his mistress, while treating me like dirt?

He shot me a hard look and murmured to Jessica, brushing the hair from her face."Hey, hang in there, you're going to be okay,"

I watched, dumbfounded, as he scooped her up again, holding her against his chest as he barked at the small crowd that had gathered.

"Everyone, clear out! I need to get her to the hospital."

With that, he hurried off towards his car, carrying her bridal style, like the most precious thing in the world. As the crowd dispersed, I remained at the balcony overlooking the front yard, watching as he peeled out of the driveway and sped off.

Once the car was out of sight, I made my way back downstairs and got into my own ride, my legs feeling like jelly.

As I drove, I found my mind wandering back to my relationship with Jessica.

We had been best friends since college, meeting in our freshman year and instantly clicking. We had shared everything with each other, from our deepest secrets to our wildest dreams.

After college, I had married Caden, a billionaire CEO, and Jessica had been my maid of honor. But things had started to change when Jessica's deadbeat boyfriend had broken up with her and left her with his debts.

That was when Caden stepped in, offering her a job as his personal assistant with an attractive salary. I had even encouraged her to take the job, and helped clear out her debts as well.

I trusted Jessica so much, and she had been a frequent visitor to our home. She would often spend the night, and I never suspected that she was secretly sleeping with my husband.

And then, slowly but surely, I started to notice the subtle changes. Jessica's frequent absences, the way she and Caden would linger a little too long during conversations, the weird glances they would exchange.

But I had pushed those nagging doubts aside, convincing myself that I was simply being paranoid.

Jessica was my best friend, and Caden was my loving husband. There was no way they would betray me like that.

Yet, as the months passed, Jessica and I started drifting apart. She became more involved in Caden's world, accompanying him to business meetings and charity events. She even started offering him advice on how to run his company.

And then, she found her real family, the Pattersons, a wealthy and influential family. She stopped being Caden's personal assistant and started working in her family's company.

As I drove, I couldn't help but think about how blind I had been.

On one particular day, I found a silver bracelet in Caden's study.

"Do you know who this belongs to?" I had asked him, holding up the bracelet.

"Oh, that?" he said dismissively looking up from his papers. "I don’t know Anna. That must belong to one of the women who attended the board meeting the other day. They probably dropped it here."

He was my husband, after all, and I had no reason to doubt him. "Okay, well, I'll keep it in case someone comes looking for it," I replied, placing the bracelet back on his desk.

But now, as I drove, the memory of that encounter took on a new meaning. That bracelet… must have belonged to Jessica.

I felt nauseous suddenly as the realization hit. Had they done it in the study too? Damn it! They had been carrying on an affair right under my nose. All those "back-to-back meetings" and "business trips" - they were just convenient excuses for them to be together, to indulge in their illicit desires.

I felt betrayed and hurt, realizing that Caden had given up on having children with me and had instead turned to Jessica. I thought about all the times we had tried to get pregnant, all the times we had prayed for a child.

“Go to hell Caden Hall!” I yelled, hitting the steering wheel repeatedly.

In my anger and pain, I flung the small framed picture in the car of my wedding with Caden out the window. I watched as it shattered on the pavement, the sound giving me a satisfaction that lasted only for five seconds.

I wished for Jessica to lose the baby, at least it was gonna teach her a lesson. I knew it was a cruel thought, but I couldn't help it. I felt like my whole world had been turned upside down, and I didn't know how to process my emotions.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I suddenly lost control of the car and crashed into a tree, the impact jolting me forward. I let out a groan as my head started aching badly.

Slowly, I pulled out my buzzing phone from my pocket, wincing in pain as I moved. I looked at the screen, and my heart sank even further. I had just received a message from Caden, inviting me to dinner with him and Jessica.

"Jessica is stable, and the baby is healthy," the message read. "Let's have dinner tomorrow night to discuss everything. 5 pm at La Belle. See you then."

The bastard had some nerve! How could he invite me to dinner with his mistress, like everything was okay? Did he really think I would just sit down and have dinner with them, like we were all best friends?

Initially, I wanted to refuse, but then I realized that this was an opportunity. I could use this dinner to confront Jessica and put her in her place.

I took a deep breath, and touched the side of my head, frowning as my fingers became sticky with blood. Thank God it was just a nasty gash on my head and nothing happened to my baby. I typed out a response, my fingers shaking with anger.

"I'll be there," I wrote.